The field of the invention is the field of imaging of teeth in a mouth.
The above identified US patents and patent applications summarize the background of the art in great detail. In brief, the prior art to the above identified applications is deficient in that images of teeth taken with light transillumination were not reproducible. The above identified applications teach that the illumination source and imaging system may be held in a reproducible and repeatable position with respect to the tooth by anchoring the source and imaging system physically with respect to the tooth. Prior art sources of light for transillumination tend to produce extraneous light scattered into an imaging system if a broad area light is used as a light source, and tend to produce non-uniform illumination if a small area light source is used.
The present invention is a method, apparatus, and system for digital imaging of teeth through transillumination of teeth in a mouth. The invention comprises using an elastomeric locator which contacts both a proximal surface of a tooth and the gum holding the tooth. The elastomeric locator is physically connected both to a light source for illuminating the tooth and to imaging optics which conduct light from the light source which has been transmitted through the tooth to an image receiver such as a CCD array, a vidicon, a CMOS imaging array, photographic film, or other image receiving devices which may form an image of the tooth. A means for blocking light reflected from the side of the tooth from reaching the imaging optics is included. Elastomeric location stubs fit between two teeth to more precisely locate the illumination and imaging system.